Apple Fast Tracks 'Je Suis Charlie' App After Email To CEO Tim Cook

Apple reportedly fast-tracked a Je Suis Charlie iPhone app after its developers sent an email asking for help directly to CEO Tim Cook.

The app allows the user to show solidarity by geotagging their location showing them as a Je Suis Charlie symbol. They can then see every other person who has been tagged on a world map.

With over 90,000 people signed up, the app was created in just two days. Despite this the app wouldn't have been available for weeks as Apple's App Store approval can take between 10-15 days.

To try and get their app up quicker, the designers decided to send an email to Tim Cook personally. Within 10 minutes, his personal assistant responded saying they liked the idea but that perhaps the app should have the support of a news organisation first.

They were able to get French news organisation Nice Matin to put its name behind it and then within hours the app was up and available on the App Store.

While the app doesn't give away names, it's a definitive show of confidence, as it does give away your precise location at the time of tagging, something that anyone nearby could see if they wished to.

The app was created in response to the tragic killings that took place in Paris where 12 people were killed at the headquarters of the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo.